Jogi (castes)
Encyclopedia
The Jogi are a Hindu
community, found in North India
, and smallers numbers also found in the southern state of Karnataka
. They are known as Giri, Nath
and Goswami.
Jogi is a colloquial term for the "yogi
", which refers to the people who practiced Yoga
as part of their daily rituals. Over the time, this led to the formation of a community, and subsequently was formed into a caste.
There Are JOGI who are Pure Sindhi Muslims of Thari Mirwah District Khairpur Mir's Sindh,Pakistan. These JOGI are the Surname and Sub-branch (Nukh) of RAJPER SAMMA Tribe "ex-rulers of Sindh State",
and worshipers of the Hindu
god Shiva
. Gorakshanath
is credited with the systemization and categorization of the practice of yoga. This system eventually led to the formation of a separate Hindu caste. As followers of the yoga, they traditionally wear saffron-colored clothing. The community once comprised mendicant
s only, but now are outnumbered by those who have taken to cultivation. They and their descendents form a caste
with two sub-groups, the Kanphata and Augur
. In North India
, they speak Hindi and its various dialects.
and speak Haryanvi.
The Jogis of Haryana
are often referred to as Padha Jogi, and are divided in three groupings or orders. These are the Kanphate Jogi, Padha Jogi and Jangam Jogi. Like in other parts of North India
, the Jogi started of as mendicants and holymen, but over time formed a distinct caste
. This is seen by the fact that they are strictly endogamous. Most Haryana
Jogis are farmers, with very few still involved in their traditional occupation.The main work of jogis people are become a sent,wear bagwa and do jog sadana.
and Udupi districts of Karnataka
. At last count there were around 600-800 families of Jogis in Mangalore city and in villages of the district. How they came to be there is not recorded but the presence of Jogi families around the Kadri Jogi Mutt
indicates that they were associated with this Hindu monastery. According to tradition, the Kadri Jogi Mutt and the nearby Manjunatha Temple were a seat of Jogi culture since the time of Matsyendranath
and Gorakshanath
, both of whom arrived from the Nepal
and Uttar Pradesh
region and established the mutt (monastery) here.
It is likely that the Kadri mutt was a Buddhist monastery in the early times and was taken over by the Jogis during the ascendance of the Shaivite tradition. The Jogis established the permanent "rule" of the Kadri Mutt by assigning a new "Jogi Arasu" (ruler) once in 12 years and making it a part of the Bara (Twelve) Panths of the Jogi system. The bara panths or 12 mutts are spread across India.
The early Jogi caste members may have been converts from other castes who were either employed as workers at the mutt or who became followers of the various Jogi Arasus. Jogi mendicants arriving from the north may have also married locals and settled down around the mutt.
The sub-culture of the Jogis is a mix featuring local "Tulu" beliefs and rituals and a small element of Jogi mendicant culture. The burial of the male dead in a sitting position with the legs in a yoga position is a pointer to the latter.
The Kadri Manjunatha temple at Mangalore in the present form was founded by Jogi Matsyendranath
of the Natha pantha (=cult) during the rule of King Kundavarma Alupa (ca. 968 CE). The Natha cult sprang from the Mahayana school of Buddhism but revived the Shaiva tradition. It marks the waning stages of Buddhism in southern India and transition of faiths from Buddhism back to mainstream Hinduism. The Jogis and the Jogi Mutt of Kadri are involved with the administration of Kadri temple since historical days. The place was known as ‘Kadarika Vihar’ during the hay days of Buddhism in Mangalore. The word ‘Natha’ means lord, owner or God.
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
community, found in North India
North India
North India, known natively as Uttar Bhārat or Shumālī Hindustān , is a loosely defined region in the northern part of India. The exact meaning of the term varies by usage...
, and smallers numbers also found in the southern state of Karnataka
Karnataka
Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...
. They are known as Giri, Nath
Nath
The Sanskrit word nāthá or नाथ, is the proper name of a Hindu initiatory tradition and the word itself literally means "lord, protector, refuge"...
and Goswami.
Jogi is a colloquial term for the "yogi
Yogi
A Yogi is a practitioner of Yoga. The word is also used to refer to ascetic practitioners of meditation in a number of South Asian Religions including Jainism, Buddhism, and Hinduism.-Etymology:...
", which refers to the people who practiced Yoga
Yoga
Yoga is a physical, mental, and spiritual discipline, originating in ancient India. The goal of yoga, or of the person practicing yoga, is the attainment of a state of perfect spiritual insight and tranquility while meditating on Supersoul...
as part of their daily rituals. Over the time, this led to the formation of a community, and subsequently was formed into a caste.
There Are JOGI who are Pure Sindhi Muslims of Thari Mirwah District Khairpur Mir's Sindh,Pakistan. These JOGI are the Surname and Sub-branch (Nukh) of RAJPER SAMMA Tribe "ex-rulers of Sindh State",
History and origin
The Jogi are followers of yogaYoga
Yoga is a physical, mental, and spiritual discipline, originating in ancient India. The goal of yoga, or of the person practicing yoga, is the attainment of a state of perfect spiritual insight and tranquility while meditating on Supersoul...
and worshipers of the Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
god Shiva
Shiva
Shiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...
. Gorakshanath
Gorakshanath
Gorakshanath was an 11th to 12th century Hindu Nath yogi, connected to Shaivism as one of the two most important disciples of Matsyendranath, the other being Caurangi. There are varying records of the spiritual descent of Gorakshanath. All name Adinath and Matsyendranath as two teachers preceding...
is credited with the systemization and categorization of the practice of yoga. This system eventually led to the formation of a separate Hindu caste. As followers of the yoga, they traditionally wear saffron-colored clothing. The community once comprised mendicant
Mendicant
The term mendicant refers to begging or relying on charitable donations, and is most widely used for religious followers or ascetics who rely exclusively on charity to survive....
s only, but now are outnumbered by those who have taken to cultivation. They and their descendents form a caste
Caste
Caste is an elaborate and complex social system that combines elements of endogamy, occupation, culture, social class, tribal affiliation and political power. It should not be confused with race or social class, e.g. members of different castes in one society may belong to the same race, as in India...
with two sub-groups, the Kanphata and Augur
Augur
The augur was a priest and official in the classical world, especially ancient Rome and Etruria. His main role was to interpret the will of the gods by studying the flight of birds: whether they are flying in groups/alone, what noises they make as they fly, direction of flight and what kind of...
. In North India
North India
North India, known natively as Uttar Bhārat or Shumālī Hindustān , is a loosely defined region in the northern part of India. The exact meaning of the term varies by usage...
, they speak Hindi and its various dialects.
Jogis of Haryana
The Jogi are found through the state of HaryanaHaryana
Haryana is a state in India. Historically, it has been a part of the Kuru region in North India. The name Haryana is found mentioned in the 12th century AD by the apabhramsha writer Vibudh Shridhar . It is bordered by Punjab and Himachal Pradesh to the north, and by Rajasthan to the west and south...
and speak Haryanvi.
The Jogis of Haryana
Haryana
Haryana is a state in India. Historically, it has been a part of the Kuru region in North India. The name Haryana is found mentioned in the 12th century AD by the apabhramsha writer Vibudh Shridhar . It is bordered by Punjab and Himachal Pradesh to the north, and by Rajasthan to the west and south...
are often referred to as Padha Jogi, and are divided in three groupings or orders. These are the Kanphate Jogi, Padha Jogi and Jangam Jogi. Like in other parts of North India
North India
North India, known natively as Uttar Bhārat or Shumālī Hindustān , is a loosely defined region in the northern part of India. The exact meaning of the term varies by usage...
, the Jogi started of as mendicants and holymen, but over time formed a distinct caste
Caste
Caste is an elaborate and complex social system that combines elements of endogamy, occupation, culture, social class, tribal affiliation and political power. It should not be confused with race or social class, e.g. members of different castes in one society may belong to the same race, as in India...
. This is seen by the fact that they are strictly endogamous. Most Haryana
Haryana
Haryana is a state in India. Historically, it has been a part of the Kuru region in North India. The name Haryana is found mentioned in the 12th century AD by the apabhramsha writer Vibudh Shridhar . It is bordered by Punjab and Himachal Pradesh to the north, and by Rajasthan to the west and south...
Jogis are farmers, with very few still involved in their traditional occupation.The main work of jogis people are become a sent,wear bagwa and do jog sadana.
Jogis of Mangalore
There is a significant population of Jogis in the Dakshina KannadaDakshina Kannada
- Geography :The district geography consists of sea shore in the west and Western Ghats in the east. The major rivers are Netravathi, Kumaradhara, Phalguni, Shambhavi, Nandini or Pavanje and Payaswini which all join Arabian sea. Vast areas of evergreen forests which once covered this district, have...
and Udupi districts of Karnataka
Karnataka
Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...
. At last count there were around 600-800 families of Jogis in Mangalore city and in villages of the district. How they came to be there is not recorded but the presence of Jogi families around the Kadri Jogi Mutt
Matha
A matha ) is a term for monastic and similar religious establishments of Hinduism and Jainism. A matha is usually more formal, hierarchical, and rule-based than an ashram.-Advaita Mathas:...
indicates that they were associated with this Hindu monastery. According to tradition, the Kadri Jogi Mutt and the nearby Manjunatha Temple were a seat of Jogi culture since the time of Matsyendranath
Matsyendranath
Matsyendranatha or Machindranath was one of the eighty-four Mahasiddhas. He was the guru of Gorakshanath, with whom he founded the school of Hatha yoga. He is considered as the author of the Kaulajñānanirṇaya , one of the earliest texts on Hatha Yoga in Sanskrit...
and Gorakshanath
Gorakshanath
Gorakshanath was an 11th to 12th century Hindu Nath yogi, connected to Shaivism as one of the two most important disciples of Matsyendranath, the other being Caurangi. There are varying records of the spiritual descent of Gorakshanath. All name Adinath and Matsyendranath as two teachers preceding...
, both of whom arrived from the Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
and Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...
region and established the mutt (monastery) here.
It is likely that the Kadri mutt was a Buddhist monastery in the early times and was taken over by the Jogis during the ascendance of the Shaivite tradition. The Jogis established the permanent "rule" of the Kadri Mutt by assigning a new "Jogi Arasu" (ruler) once in 12 years and making it a part of the Bara (Twelve) Panths of the Jogi system. The bara panths or 12 mutts are spread across India.
The early Jogi caste members may have been converts from other castes who were either employed as workers at the mutt or who became followers of the various Jogi Arasus. Jogi mendicants arriving from the north may have also married locals and settled down around the mutt.
The sub-culture of the Jogis is a mix featuring local "Tulu" beliefs and rituals and a small element of Jogi mendicant culture. The burial of the male dead in a sitting position with the legs in a yoga position is a pointer to the latter.
The Kadri Manjunatha temple at Mangalore in the present form was founded by Jogi Matsyendranath
Matsyendranath
Matsyendranatha or Machindranath was one of the eighty-four Mahasiddhas. He was the guru of Gorakshanath, with whom he founded the school of Hatha yoga. He is considered as the author of the Kaulajñānanirṇaya , one of the earliest texts on Hatha Yoga in Sanskrit...
of the Natha pantha (=cult) during the rule of King Kundavarma Alupa (ca. 968 CE). The Natha cult sprang from the Mahayana school of Buddhism but revived the Shaiva tradition. It marks the waning stages of Buddhism in southern India and transition of faiths from Buddhism back to mainstream Hinduism. The Jogis and the Jogi Mutt of Kadri are involved with the administration of Kadri temple since historical days. The place was known as ‘Kadarika Vihar’ during the hay days of Buddhism in Mangalore. The word ‘Natha’ means lord, owner or God.
Further reading
- Philosophy of Gorakhnath by Akshaya Kumar Banerjea archive.org
- Detailed description about Jogis at shivshakti.com
- More information on Jogis at religiousworlds.com
- Yogis under the British Raj
- The tribes and castes of the central provinces of India, Volume 1